Childhood Obesity Epidemic Summary

Is Child Obesity Hereditary or Parental Negligence? Introduction Child obesity is not merely an issue in the world but it has been seen as an epidemic. The number of overweight and obese children has increased at an alarming rate over the past years, and there is no chance of it slowly down without action being taken. Children suffering from obesity face an increased risk of compromised physical and mental well-being.

1. Introduction The rate of childhood obesity has increased over few years. There are 41 million children in the world are overweight or at risk of obesity. Childhood obesity is a serious health problem.

a massive financial burden to fulfill. While much of the expenses are covered by government policy, this still leaves many Hispanics in low income more dangerous neighborhoods. Unsafe neighborhoods and parks result in a lack of safe places for children to get the necessary physical activity they need. An insufficient amount of physical activity is one of the leading causes of obesity in children. As mentioned earlier, schools are majorly affected by the obesity rates in children. Due to the large obesity rates in Hispanic American children, primarily Hispanic schools are especially susceptible to this problem. The schools are beginning to implement programs and educational classes to help end this epidemic at the community level. Hospitals

America is growing as a nation, and its citizens are growing in pant size. Obesity is a growing problem in America for children and adults; therefore, steps need to be taken to promote healthy foods to stop future health problems. In hopes of decreasing obesity rates, some political leaders like New York Governor David Paterson, have proposed a tax on caloric sweetened beverages (soda tax). This will reduce the consumption of sweetened beverages, thereby reducing the weight of the individual. The money collected from this tax could be returned to communities to support programs promoting wellness. It could be used to help support the cost of the country’s health care relating to obesity and be used to subsidize staple foods. Ultimately, the

The use of BMI is inaccurate, due to its inability to include the information of one’s muscle mass and content of a person. The use of BMI is so common it is very difficult for many people to understand the fact that it has a great possibility of being wrong. BMI only considers using only a person 's height and weight to find the

Over the past few decades a new epidemic has crossed the nation. This new epidemic is childhood obesity. The Center for Disease Control and Prevention, often referred to as the CDC, states that, “Childhood obesity has more than doubled in children and quadrupled in adolescents in the past 30 years” (Shields, 2015). The documentary entitled Fed Up by Stephanie Soechtig addresses this new epidemic. This life changing film examines factors that contribute to the childhood obesity epidemic and also how to prevent its spread.

Obesity has been a huge problem for most children in America. Every generation it becomes more of problem than what it was the generation before. Many children suffer with this problem today because of the life styles that they live. Children tend to lack as much exercise as they need because of the many distractions that they face every day. Most of the day kids are sitting around the house watching television, playing video games or on some type of new device that came out. Another reason why kids are overweight is because of the choices of food they choose to eat. Many families choose to go to fast food restaurants such as McDonalds or Burger King because the food is cheaper and quick then most healthy places. Also, parents tend to

Obesity has been a huge problem for most children in America. Every generation, it becomes more of a problem than what it was the generation prior to it. Many children suffer with this problem today because of the lifestyles that they live. Children tend to lack adequate amounts of exercise that they need because of the many distractions that they face every day. Most of the day, kids are sitting around the house watching television, playing video games or on some type of a new device that has just been released. Another reason why kids are overweight is because of the types of food they choose to eat. Many families choose to go to fast food restaurants such as McDonalds or Burger King because the food is cheaper and quicker than most

Obesity has created a population of lazy children all around the world. Estela Renner, director of the documentary Way Beyond Weight, displays the negative effects of obesity on the children in all societies ranging from villages in Brazil to big cities in the United States. Through specialists and children, Renner digs deep to find the cause of obesity and how much of an influence it can have on a child’s life. This epidemic has impacted the lives of all people, and can occur as early as infancy. Overweight children suffer from health issues such as diabetes, high blood pressure, arthritis, high cholesterol, and more.

“New York City’s Board of Health today passed a rule banning super-sized drinks at restaurants, concession stands and other eateries.” (Doc A). Individuals in the United States are overweight because they do not know how to limit themselves. If the government were to control one of the main reasons people are obese, then several people would not be overweight because the government would take care of the problem. Banning sugary drinks over 16-ounces would help people lower their sugar intake, which would help people stay in excellent health. Although numerous amounts of people believe they should be able to make their own decisions, the government should be able to control what Americans are consuming because of children, health, and the future.

Obesity: There is a direct link between young children’s eating habits and them becoming overweight and obese later on. Children in families with insufficient access to nutritious foods are in fact significantly more likely to be obese in early childhood than other children. This is the result of excessive calorie intake and an emphasis on foods that have high levels of fat, sugar and sodium.

The issue is childhood obesity, and it is only accelerating as a percentage of children in both America and all western nations of the world. Childhood Obesity is an issue relevant to all who consider themselves part of American society and it has profound adverse effects economically, physically for those afflicted with the issue, and mentally for those who live an obese childhood or within the family unit of a household with at least one obese child. The scope of the issue is massive and the impact of the consequences dire in many accounts. There is hope to reverse course and change the way of American-western living, and it starts with understanding the size and

Childhood obesity was defined as one of the epidemics of our modern society and it has changed to pandemic (WHO, 2000) due to increased number of cases around the world. The latest report from the World Health Organization confirmed 42 million infants and young children were overweight and obese (WHO, 2013). Australia experienced a high rate of obesity in the adult population and a fast growing increase in childhood obesity, counting 1 in 4 children becoming obese. This situation makes a big burden to the Public health system due to the expenditure of health promotions and interventions to increase healthy eating and physical activity in order to decrease levels of obesity (Australia Government, 2009). Development countries have been experiencing

Lazarou & Kouta (2010) define obesity as “a chronic metabolic disease, considered to be one of the main risk factors for cardiovascular disease”, and state that hypertension, atherosclerosis and type two diabetes have also been shown to be more likely in people with obesity (p. 641). These adult health problems have now become commonplace amongst children and youth today (Tuckwood, 2012). With obesity being diagnosed at earlier ages, prevention becomes increasingly difficult; personal habits are harder to break, health risks are more serious, and the likelihood of living with obesity in adulthood is significantly higher. Fifty percent of children who are obese will become obese adults (Lazarou & Kouta, 2010).

Over the past generation obesity has become a major health issue. The term obesity is best describe as someone having a body mass index (BMI) equal to or above the 95th percentile. Within both genders of African American children and adolescent obesity has increased tremendously. Obesity can contribute too many chronic illnesses down the line if left untreated such as cardiovascular disease, cancer, asthma, and type 2 diabetes (Coreil, 2009). Studies have reported that within low income communities 1 out of 3 children are considered as overweight or obese (Ogden et al., 2010).